Custom engraving won't be available on the Moto X at launch

A little bit of disappointing news for those who were hoping for a bit of custom engraving on their Moto X, at least initially. Motorola has confirmed to us that the option won't be available when the phone and its Moto Maker custom designer go live later this week. "We love this feature. We're going to make it happen," a Moto spokeswoman told us this evening. We'll just have to wait a bit. No ETA was given.

Moto X will be available on AT&T starting Friday, and the carrier currently has an exclusive on the Moto Maker customization. (Verizon will get it later this year, it says.) All the custom colors we showed you in our preview last week will be available, as will a custom boot message. If you want engraving, you'll have to wait.

And, actually, waiting might not be the worst idea in the world. There are 18 design options currently available for Moto X, but it'll gain more later this year — including a wood back.

Yeah, I learned my lesson on engraving years ago, these things are disposable. We just want to get rid of them every year when the next thing comes out...I've changed my mind on what new phone to get 4 times in the last month! :)

I care more about anti-theft than I care about resale. I don't resell my phones... I use them for about a year past obsoletion... Which, of course, is only about 18 months after I get it in the first place... :-P

Being on Verizon with 100 million + customers, it was a stupid idea to make it exclusive, and I'm pissed about it. Not going to wait till the end of November or early december for a custom option. Not going to Buy an X just for the Low Ass specs barely better than my GNex, the custom option and Dual LTE antennas was the only cool things about it

Maybe we'll Get luck and the New Motorola Nexus will launch on Verizon this year, Droid Life is stating Moto has the Nexus 5, not LG

Let me just add something here, Verizon will never EVER get another Nexus device, but to be fair Sprint probably won't either. With the problems Google was having pushing out updates to the Galaxy Nexus CD

@Toonhead85 I couldn't agree more. The wooden back should be available at launch (huge blunder) and something as simple as "name engraving" not being ready is very troubling. And the $199 price...This launch isn't going well at all.

I wanted a Nexus 4 real bad when they came out and then finally gave up out of frustration of not being able to get one. I'm still using the last phone that Motorola abandoned before it's time was up(Atrix) and I bet the Moto X will get a similar treatment. If I got one of these I probably would have skipped the engraving anyway but I think some people would have liked to have that option. So once again Motorola promises something and can't deliver(like the ICS update for the Atrix)...I can't say I'm surprised.

It's only a big deal if we can figure out what the majority of people do with their previous phone when they replace it with a new one. I get it. It's a customization feature that Motorola has been promoting and customization is a huge part of Motorola's value proposition when it comes to the Moto X.

But if there's any evidence to show that most people hand their previous phone down or re-sell their previous phone, not having the option to custom-engrave a Moto X at launch might not necessarily a bad thing.

Seem that the Google way of doing things is poluting Motorola...
You'll see, next friday... The servers will go down and there won't be nobody happy.
Yeah! Way to go Google...
Nexus One, failed launch.
Nexus S, bof.
Galaxy Nexus, failed launch.
Nexus 4, what to say more.
Not talking of the Nexuses 7, the first was a nightmare launch.
One day day I'm gone start to write columns about phone, then I'll be able to get the phones.
Right Phil!

You know, it's the ONE THING that Apple does to near perfection. Launch devices. As soon as the product is announced you can pre-order on the updated Apple website. You know exactly when the device will be in retail stores and when it will ship if ordered online.

You mean where MILLIONS of people had a device? It's not like they could only manufacture 20,000 units and everyone sat around waiting.

Apple sucks at software, good at hardware launches. They have flaws in that hardware like everyone else, sometimes more sometimes less, but they sure don't do a half-assed job (or quarter-assed job, really) like Motorola did.

PSA: The Motorola X won't be available at launch. Seriously. With this and the exclusivity, the new catchphrase should be: "Moto X. Assembled in the USA, Designed By You. Except if you want engravings. Or if you want a wooden back. Or if you aren't on AT&T. But still, designed by you."

I love the phone and what it could do for Android, but this launch seems a bit... rushed, in my honest opinion. These things could be the difference between the next smash hit vs. "almost there."

This comes as strange news to me. I work in an AT&T corporate store, and last week I was given a Moto X card and early access to Moto Maker to design my own to use as a work phone. Friday I built the phone with an engraving on Moto Maker, and I will be arriving Wednesday. Honestly can't imagine why the feature won't be available for the general public. But as far as I know, mine is engraved.

I could care less about the no engraving. What I am trying to figure out is what is the plan for T-mobile users? All we know is that we have to buy it directly from motorola. But there has not been 1 peep about the non-contract pricing and what that means for T-mobile users. AND ITS COMING OUT ON FRIDAY... wtf

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